Late
by xrictusemprax
Summary: Powerful things arise from mistakes... or do they?


**Disclaimer: **Yay, I have something interesting to say this time. So, I do not own Severus Snape but I do own Ella as she is me. And I don't own her friend, but her friend is my friend, with names changed.

Author's Note: Yep, this is my story… based on a dream I had. Seriously. Yes, some parts will be edited as I could not hand in a Double Charms essay to a Potion's master (yeah, dreams can be odd), but the whole idea _did_ come from my lovely dream! Yes, it's kind of odd because the plot is about homework but I like it. . And mind how mean I am to Harry… ah! I like everyone in the Harry Potter stories except Umbridge (Oh man, reading the fifth I had an urge to kill) and perhaps Filch. 

**Pairings: **Not a pairing but Ella has a thing for someone… which is so odd because I don't really like Snape… in that way, leh cough... or do I?

**Rating:**PG because there's nothing but like, mild language. Sorry, no slashy-goodness this time! (lYke OmGz ItZ mY first PG StoRy!one!111)

**Characters: **Severus Snape, (original characters) Ella, Tess, and there's some Draco Malfoy in there.

_Late_

It was a cloudy Tuesday morning as the class lined up for Double Potions, the Gryffindors dreading the next few hours that lay ahead. I was in the crowd, watching Malfoy ridicule over Harry's Qudditch ban and how the Gryffindors lost to us Slytherins by at least fifty, Malfoy was saying loudly. "Oh yes, and Weasel-bee here made some grand saves didn't you? And of course—there were the ones you missed… by a mile… or two. My grandmother blindfolded can do—" Draco spluttered, laughing wildly at Harry's malevolent expression but stopped when Professor Snape had appeared at the door and raised his eyebrows at Malfoy before letting the class in.

"Watch what you say, you never know when he's around…" I hissed, sitting next to my best friend, Tessa and Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy. Professor Snape had arranged the classroom much differently. Instead of rows of desks there now were four large tables circularly shaped.

"Yeah, but he never picks on me," Draco whispered, reaching into his bag while Pansy gave very approving glances at him, indicating her secret lust almost everyone knew about.

"You never know… Dumbledore trusted him for one reason or the other," Tess hissed, tying back her long black hair, which flowed silkily down her shoulder. Her eyes were sprinkled with black makeup and lips were shimmering with lip-gloss.

Snape's loud voice had boomed through the room, "Please have one person in your table collect all your essays on the Moonstone. I shall hand back your essays from last week. I am pleased to say most of you got at least an 'A' but others," he looked at Potter who was crowded with papers, obviously scanning his binder for his essay. "Others… well, they could use some work." Granger then bent in and pulled out Potter's essay, handing it to him.

I made a movement for my bag and was struck with something so horrendous, it practically knocked me off my chair. "Tess, I forgot about the essay! I haven't finished it!" I whispered, eyes furrowed with worry.

She raised her eyebrows at me and shrugged. "You know—you really should have been put into Ravenclaw, with all that fussing. Just tell…" she began to say as Snape inched closer and put an end to her talking. He scanned our table and Pansy handed him the five essays that were completed. Professor Snape seemed in no mood for counting, however. He took them from her hand and piled them onto the other ones. "Tell him that you left it in your dorm and then quickly research it up and hand it in after class. Potions is the last thing we have today," Tess barely whispered.

I nodded, exchanging looks with Malfoy who was on my right. He knitted his eyebrows and shrugged. "Didn't finish it?"

I shook my head and sighed. "How can this happen… to me!" I hissed, shaking my head in self-scorn. Draco laughed and flipped randomly to pages of his Potions book, pausing to look at the Polyjuice Potion, which I pointed out was perhaps one of the trickiest ones in the book. "Oh, you'd know!" he joked. "Tess is right; I don't understand why you're in Slytherin."

I pouted jokingly and hissed. "Oh, but you're so glad I am."

Malfoy was not interested in replying as Professor Snape began to hand back last week's essays and I immediately knew my best friends were right: I belonged with the brainiest of them all. Snape passed by our table and gave me mine first, smiling slightly as I took it and gave a quick look at the letter grade I had received… another: 'O'.

"Damn, how do you get all the good grades, Ella?" Goyle muttered, looking at my paper. I shot a glance at his and suppressed a chuckle. Professor Snape had been easy on him… only a 'D'!

"Ravenclaw at heart!" I teased, putting the essay away neatly into my bag as Goyle ripped his up. "What _are_ you doing?" I asked, smiling at Pansy's roll of eyes as she gazed at Goyle.

"Well, nothing at the moment." Goyle hissed through his gritted teeth, and balled his hands into fists, eyes narrowed at the smithereens of crumpled parchment as if challenging them to fight.

Professor marched to the Gryffindor table, giving Potter's back with what looked like a 'T' much larger then any of our marks. I grinned and looked at Pansy's paper. "Not bad, Parkinson." She looked miserably down at her 'A' and sighed. "He just likes you."

As differently as she meant the words, they seemed to match my meaning more. "Yes, but I actually researched it." Giving last looks at Tess' and Malfoy's papers, I realized they both got 'E's.

Class ended with Professor Snape assigning an essay on the purpose of salamander blood and its origins. Malfoy and Pansy got up after Crabbe and Goyle who still seemed to be sulking about their 'D's. I gave the two a small wave and grabbed my bag, swung it over my shoulder, and made my way through the large crowd of students who were re-reading the criteria sheet for the essay. Most seemed to be Gryffindors: Potter, Longbottom, Finnegan… those who did badly on the previous essay.

"Professor, may I speak to you?" I asked sweetly, approaching Snape's desk. His black eyes met mine and the corners of his mouth twitched. "Certainly."

"Well, I was wondering… I didn't exactly hand my essay in this afternoon. I have it upstairs… in the dorms, sir. Could I maybe hand it in later on today?" I timidly squeaked, dreading the answer that could easily be, "Oh no, Ella. You'll just get a 'T' with Potter. Perhaps that will teach you to pack your bag wisely." Instead it happened to be, "Of course you may. How does five o'clock sound? I need to eat lunch but afterwards, you are welcome to come down here at any time."

My breath got caught in my throat. For the first time, Professor Snape was smiling at me warmly, eyes gleaming with something akin to pride. "You're one of the best students in this class, if you don't count Granger. You know, you and her were meant to be in Ravenclaw. I don't understand the Sorting Hat's criteria!" Professor joked, running a hand through his thick locks of midnight black hair.

"Thank you, sir." I smiled back, but before I faced Tessa, I uttered, "Besides, Professor Flitwhick isn't _nearly _as good a Head of a House as you, Professor."

Snape smiled and gave me one small nod. "I'll see you at five, Ella."

"Good bye, Professor." I said, marching past a very angry Potter. "What's wrong, Scarhead? Get a 'D' again? Or worse? I reckon I saw a 'T' on that paper… in red ink… oh my, poor Professor Snape… using his special ink on filth like you…" I asked quite normally as if talking to Pansy or Tess.

Potter gave me a very malicious glance with those beautiful shining emerald-green eyes. "Leave me alone, _Ella_." He mocked coldly, ignoring the glances he was getting from that Mudblood girl.

"See you 'round, Scarhead." I hissed loudly, feeling much too free to tease whomever I wished under the eyes of Professor Snape.

Tess and I had reached the hall leading to the dungeons and walked slowly to the Slytherin Tower, talking amongst ourselves. "So, what happened?" she asked me excitedly, smiling at my embarrassment of being so forgetful.

"Well, I have a meeting at five with Professor Snape," I said, ignoring the sarcastic gestures coming from Tessa (she had this thing where she never used 'Professor' behind someone's back and often mocked me for it). "And now it's three… I had better finish the essay before five. I lied to him and said it was upstairs and the luck of the draw told me that he'd be having lunch now therefore he wouldn't be in his office until five," I said, taking a right turn as Tessa took a left.

"Where are you going?" she asked, shooting confused glances at me.

"Not to the Great Hall, for sure. I'm skipping lunch today. There's always tomorrow when my brain isn't overflowing with homework and time isn't stalking me from behind." I muttered, stopping with a halt as I realized she wouldn't be coming along.

"Well, you go to the library, I'm off to eat… save you some?" she offered, tossing back escaped strands of hair from her face.

"Sure thing, Tess. Listen, I'd better hurry… see you 'round." I said, speeding off to the library. When I reached it, the place was quite empty because most of the students were eating like _normal people_. I ran over to the librarian (who reminded me to walk inside) and asked her if she could find me a book about Moonstones… and salamander blood, I figured if I'd spend time doing one essay… why not do two?

She handed me two thick books with plenty of information. I took them with a graceful thank you and sat down at an empty table, got my feathery quill out and dipped it into its inkbottle. I'd finished one full essay about the Moonstone and decided for a bonus to add some more information as the clock was telling me three had died and was going onto four. The parchment seemed longer then Granger's even… and I tried to keep my writing small so I wouldn't waste precious parchment, perhaps saving me this week's visit to Diagon Alley with Pansy as we always were running out.

Re-reading the paper, I was thoroughly pleased and placed it on the side to dry. I started at the second essay, perhaps hoping I'd be able to hand both in. It was the oddest essay any professor had asked me to write. I summarized the origins of it in about five paragraphs but its purposes seemed to take up ten pages. As my right thumb and index finger throbbed from holding a quill and dipping it so many times, I scribbled down, "_Salamander blood has many uses and is essential for many potions. There are far too many for me to write down, so here are the main categories:_" Would Snape accept that? Well, I couldn't copy ten pages onto a bit of parchment so I supposed that through my small handwriting he'd be able to understand I had little room left.

Tessa had met me by the library's door, carrying three cupcakes multicolored with chocolate and vanilla. I took them with a grateful thank you and put my essays into my bag, laughing at Tess' remark of, "HOLY GOD, you finished _TWO_! You're a maniac!"

Shooting my watch a glance, I engulfed half of a cupcake whole and headed off to Snape's office, bidding goodbye to Tessa once more. I reached the thick dungeon doors at exactly five o'clock, knocking twice.

"Enter," called Professor's monotone voice laced with a sultry tint I could not scratch from my mind.

I opened the doors after I got both essays out of my bag and walked up to his desk. "Hello, Professor."

He smiled at me, bent over a roll of very long parchment. "Hello, Ella." He took the essays from me and then stopped. "Why are you handing two in, miss?"

I shrugged in a relaxed manner and said, "Well, I had time so I finished the other one after I finished lunch." I was lying to my favorite professor in the whole world… the man I'd lusted for over ages…

"I don't recall seeing you in the Great Hall," Professor said calmly, a hint of accusation in his voice.

"Well, no, sir. I was with my friends and in the library. Tessa brought me lunch to the common room." Again, a _lie_.

Professor cocked his head slightly and arched his eyebrows in a fashion which only meant I wasn't exactly believed by all. "This ink looks like it's just dried, Ella. Did you really finish the essay last night or were you doing it just now?"

I felt like crying, so humiliated by the man I honored highly and contained such respect for. "Just now, sir. I'm sorry… I just didn't want to fail…"

Professor gave me a sweet smile and took my chin into his hands and softly forced it up so I looked him squarely into the eye. "It's okay. I would fail Potter because he clearly shows no interest for this subject but you however do and you do better then an 'A' or 'E'. Next time though, I'd much rather have you tell me the truth the first time or I _shall_ fail you."

I nodded and sighed, "Thank you, sir."

He smiled again and read my Moonstone's essay very slowly as I bounced on the balls of my feet, knowing that he'd present me with a grade now. When Professor's eyes had reached the last sentence he got out his quill and his inkbottle… the _red_ one. With it, he carefully dipped the quill in and drew a very big circle on the corner of my page and added a little plus sign… and then another.

"An 'O+'. One of the firsts in my class." He said slowly and handed back the essay brimming with blood-like ink.

"Thank you, Professor."

"Oh, and Ella?" he asked as I made my way to the door, pride blazing inside my soul.

I turned to face Professor and looked expectant. "Yes, sir?"

"Don't be late next time."

Fin.


End file.
